Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Renovation Update

The kitchen addition is moving along now at a brisk clip and it's getting very close to being finished. While I love creating our own space, something I've come to realize about myself is that I enjoy it happening at a leisurely pace. Picking everything out at once is rather stressful to me and I find myself questioning myself more often than I think I normally would. Plus, it doesn't give me the opportunity to just "come upon" that perfect chandelier (seriously, I can't find a chandelier for the dining room that I like).

It's also time for some renovation honesty. When they first framed out the addition, I went through a complete freak out. As in, there was crying, gnashing of teeth, texting of friends and family, etc.. You see, it looked to me as if we just slapped a box onto the back of our house.

I think I panicked because we put so much time, thought and effort into the design and the best way to keep our home functional for us as a family, while also honoring the age and the history of the house, so the idea that we might have messed things up completely undid me. Everyone talked me down by explaining that once the finishes started going in it would look 1,000 times better, and it does. It's not perfect, it is clearly an addition, but I do think that it was the best option to bring this house into modern day living. Historic homes are lovely and have their place, but we have to live in ours and the best way we knew how to do that was bringing the kitchen into the heart of the home instead of squeezed in on the far side of the house.

The best thing that came out of my meltdown was the addition of a window on the east side. We realized very quickly that it was a giant blank space and needed to be broken up with a window. It meant losing a wall cabinet but the payoff was well worth it.

The cooper roof and gutters, the siding with a bead on the edge and the windows have indeed made a big difference. I think landscaping will also contribute greatly to helping the addition blend in. While the roof looks flat, it's not. It has has a slight pitch and is a beautiful copper though no one will ever see it unless they are in Harris' bathroom, bedroom or the stairwell!